MCurry
Structural
- Mar 19, 2003
- 34
I'm designing a four story steel framed building. There will be a couple of concrete stair towers and a concrete elevator tower near the center of the building. I't basically rectangular, about 135 feet x 90 feet.
The floors are concrete, so I've modelled them as rigid diaphragms. I've placed a single braced frame at each of the four sides of the building. The concrete towers (no surprise here) attract most of the lateral load (seismic governs over wind). The braced frames attract relatively little load, and seem to basically resist the loads generated from rigid diaphragm torsion.
My question is about the braced frames. Can I use a single brace at each level of each frame as both a compression and tension member? I've used an "Ordinary Concentric Braced Frame" R factor in developing my seismic forces, and I can't find any code limitations that would prevent me from doing this.
Thanks
The floors are concrete, so I've modelled them as rigid diaphragms. I've placed a single braced frame at each of the four sides of the building. The concrete towers (no surprise here) attract most of the lateral load (seismic governs over wind). The braced frames attract relatively little load, and seem to basically resist the loads generated from rigid diaphragm torsion.
My question is about the braced frames. Can I use a single brace at each level of each frame as both a compression and tension member? I've used an "Ordinary Concentric Braced Frame" R factor in developing my seismic forces, and I can't find any code limitations that would prevent me from doing this.
Thanks